City College of New York has dedicated its new architecture-school building. (Bruce Damonte photos)
To create a new, 135,000-square-foot home for the City College of New York’s Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, Rafael Viñoly Architects gutted the university’s 1950s Morris Raphael Cohen Library, on West 135th Street, and reused the five-story structure’s concrete frame and floors. The firm added an exterior of glass and pre-cast concrete panels and created an outdoor amphitheater on the roof that offers views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline while also serving as a clerestory to light the building’s interior. Landscaping by Lee Weintraub completes the project.
An atrium cut through the middle of the old structure (above) provides a focal point for the new interior and lets daylight fall from the clerestory through the building. The atrium is crisscrossed by metal bridges and stairs that both aid circulation and provide visual interest. Faculty offices on mezzanines overlook open studio spaces.
The $52-million building, dedicated last month, also houses exhibition space at the bottom of the atrium, three classrooms, a library, administrative offices, a model shop, and street-level offices for the City College Architecture Center, which offers consulting services for nonprofit organizations. City College is part of the City University of New York.
A clerestory that illuminates the interior also forms a rooftop amphitheater.
--
Previous Post: Shop Talk: Wednesday, October 14 | Buildings & Grounds Main Page